A research and development project from VIA investigates if telemedicine, care hotspots and cooperation between sectors can develop the elder care in Denmark.

The Danish healthcare system

The Elderly care in Denmark is Government-organized and financed. The primary sector has the responsibility for elderly care which results in a limited number of cooperation between the public and private sector. The growing number of elderly and the decreasing workforce will expectably increase the demand for care and therefore the public costs in the future. This creates an urgent need for new technologies, solutions and cooperatives. Horsens at the Forefront (Horsens på forkant) is an attempt to investigate the possibility of cooperation between sectors in Denmark.

Horsens at the Forefront

Horsens at the Forefront (Horsens på forkant) is a research and development project, which shares the same vision and believes as AAL: Innovation and the application of technology-based solutions will enable people to live their lives to the fullest, where and how they choose.

The project is a unique cooperation between the hospital, the municipality, the pharmacists association, the general practitioners and a private consortium Tele Care (Telesundhed). The main task is to unite the care services and to make the patient information easily available regardless of sector. The telemedical platform makes it easier to connect the patient with the care services. The patient is able to make measurements from home and connect with the medical practitioners by video. This should make it easier for the patient to live a worthily and normal life despite the illness.

Why this is important for future cooperativesFor now the project is limited to the city of Horsens, but the aim of the project is to test whether the new technology and the new way of cooperating can contribute to the Danish health care system. The project can, if it turns out to be a success, make the Danish healthcare system more open to cooperation between organizations. This will potentially make it easier for ICareCoops to contribute to the Danish healthcare and elderly care in the future.

To find out more about the project and discover the findings of the study, click here.